'Shoot them dead' order wasn't literal – Cayetano
Published Apr 3, 2020 12:06 pm
By Ellson Quismorio
President Duterte didn't mean his now-viral “shoot them dead” order to police and soldiers literally, at least according to his ally, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano
(RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "I always take the President seriously, but not always literally," Cayetano said during his "virtual press conference" on Facebook Live Friday afternoon wherein he answered questions from both reporters covering the House of Representatives as well as netizens. "I don't really think that literal yung order ng Pangulo na pag may nag-violate barilin mo, kaya nga tayo may enhanced quarantine (ECQ) to protect people (I don't really think that the President's order to shoot violators was literal, because in the first place, we have this enhanced quarantine to protect people),” said the House leader. On Wednesday night, President Duterte gave an impromptu speech wherein he fumed over supposed troublemakers and violators of the ECQ, saying they'd better not disrupt the distribution of government aid in connection with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. "My orders are sa pulis pati military, pati mga barangay na pagka ginulo at nagkaroon ng okasyon na lumaban at ang buhay ninyo ay nalagay sa alanganin, shoot them dead (My orders to the police and the military, as well as barangay officials, is to shoot them dead if they riot, resist arrest, and your lives are threatened)," President Duterte was quoted as saying. Needless to say, the outspoken Chief Executive's statements became the subject of international news and online vitriol. But Cayetano made sure to point out the context of President Duterte's anger – that is, the actions of leftist group Kadamay – which may have been glossed over in the ensuing public discussion. "Ang konteksto, yung Kadamay, sinugod yung isang barangay, nagkaroon ng riot o mini-riot doon and it can really spark civil disobedience o riots in other places because gutom ang tao. Takot ang marami nating kababayan, grabe yung uncertainty. Yung context ng pagkasabi ng Pangulo is that sumunod kayo sa quarantine, I will not tolerate violence," he said. (The context is that Kadamay charged toward one village, a riot or mini-riot ensued there and it can really spark civil disobedience or riots in other places because people are hungry. Most of our people are afraid, uncertainty is high. The context of the President's statement is that follow the quarantine, I will not tolerate violence.) “But of course yung shoot to kill , ang ibig sabihin nun when he was talking about it is that if they resist or magra-riot sila or sugurin nila yung pulis... kung ayaw mong magpa-aresto at nagra-riot ka, then there's a level of response that the PNP will have to do, of course, anti-riot police muna yan, hindi naman pupunta doon na naka-M16 at suddenly babarilin lahat," Cayetano said. (But of course regarding the shoot to kill, what he meant was that if they resist or riot or attack police...if you resist arrest and you riot, then there's a level of response that the PNP will have to do, of course, first of all anti-riot police will respond first, they won't go to the area armed with M16s and suddenly start shooting people.) "I think we need to get used to how the President expresses himself," he added. Cayetano maintained his belief that the government's general order for Philippine National Police (PNP) members is to observe maximum tolerance. However, the "hardheaded" individuals who refuse to follow quarantine rules will be arrested. The Speaker further said that President Duterte merely gave such remarks "because he cares for the general public, he cares for every single person." Cayetano also slammed the communists or Reds that have been injecting politics into the current challenging situation. "Maging realistic din po tayo na totoo dapat walang politika at this time (Let's be realistic that in truth, there should be no politics at this time) the reality is there are forces out there who are out to get the government," he said.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano(RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "I always take the President seriously, but not always literally," Cayetano said during his "virtual press conference" on Facebook Live Friday afternoon wherein he answered questions from both reporters covering the House of Representatives as well as netizens. "I don't really think that literal yung order ng Pangulo na pag may nag-violate barilin mo, kaya nga tayo may enhanced quarantine (ECQ) to protect people (I don't really think that the President's order to shoot violators was literal, because in the first place, we have this enhanced quarantine to protect people),” said the House leader. On Wednesday night, President Duterte gave an impromptu speech wherein he fumed over supposed troublemakers and violators of the ECQ, saying they'd better not disrupt the distribution of government aid in connection with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. "My orders are sa pulis pati military, pati mga barangay na pagka ginulo at nagkaroon ng okasyon na lumaban at ang buhay ninyo ay nalagay sa alanganin, shoot them dead (My orders to the police and the military, as well as barangay officials, is to shoot them dead if they riot, resist arrest, and your lives are threatened)," President Duterte was quoted as saying. Needless to say, the outspoken Chief Executive's statements became the subject of international news and online vitriol. But Cayetano made sure to point out the context of President Duterte's anger – that is, the actions of leftist group Kadamay – which may have been glossed over in the ensuing public discussion. "Ang konteksto, yung Kadamay, sinugod yung isang barangay, nagkaroon ng riot o mini-riot doon and it can really spark civil disobedience o riots in other places because gutom ang tao. Takot ang marami nating kababayan, grabe yung uncertainty. Yung context ng pagkasabi ng Pangulo is that sumunod kayo sa quarantine, I will not tolerate violence," he said. (The context is that Kadamay charged toward one village, a riot or mini-riot ensued there and it can really spark civil disobedience or riots in other places because people are hungry. Most of our people are afraid, uncertainty is high. The context of the President's statement is that follow the quarantine, I will not tolerate violence.) “But of course yung shoot to kill , ang ibig sabihin nun when he was talking about it is that if they resist or magra-riot sila or sugurin nila yung pulis... kung ayaw mong magpa-aresto at nagra-riot ka, then there's a level of response that the PNP will have to do, of course, anti-riot police muna yan, hindi naman pupunta doon na naka-M16 at suddenly babarilin lahat," Cayetano said. (But of course regarding the shoot to kill, what he meant was that if they resist or riot or attack police...if you resist arrest and you riot, then there's a level of response that the PNP will have to do, of course, first of all anti-riot police will respond first, they won't go to the area armed with M16s and suddenly start shooting people.) "I think we need to get used to how the President expresses himself," he added. Cayetano maintained his belief that the government's general order for Philippine National Police (PNP) members is to observe maximum tolerance. However, the "hardheaded" individuals who refuse to follow quarantine rules will be arrested. The Speaker further said that President Duterte merely gave such remarks "because he cares for the general public, he cares for every single person." Cayetano also slammed the communists or Reds that have been injecting politics into the current challenging situation. "Maging realistic din po tayo na totoo dapat walang politika at this time (Let's be realistic that in truth, there should be no politics at this time) the reality is there are forces out there who are out to get the government," he said.